One of Travel + Leisure’s most anticipated books of summer 2020.
From the Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids comes a story of four generations of women grappling with family betrayals and long-buried secrets.
It’s been years since Zoe Fairchild has been to the small Devon village of her birth, but the wounds she suffered there still ache. When … but the wounds she suffered there still ache. When she learns that her old friend and grandmother’s caretaker has gone missing, Zoe and her fifteen-year-old daughter return to England to help.
Zoe dreads seeing her estranged mother, who left when Zoe was seven to travel the world. As the four generations of women reunite, the emotional pain of the past is awakened. And to complicate matters further, Zoe must also confront the ex-boyfriend she betrayed many years before.
Anxieties spike when tragedy befalls another woman in the village. As the mystery turns more sinister, new grief melds with old betrayal. Now the four Fairchild women will be tested in ways they couldn’t imagine as they contend with dangers within and without, desperate to heal themselves and their relationships with each other.
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The Lost Girls of Devon draws us into the lives of four generations of women as they come to terms with their relationships and a mysterious tragedy that brings them together. Written in exquisite prose with the added bonus of the small Devon village as a setting, Barbara O’Neal’s book will ensnare the reader from the first page, taking us on an emotional journey of love, loss, and betrayal.
This is one of those books I wished I moved to the top of my read pile as soon as it published. O’Neal’s stories are magical and this one is no different. It’s always a treat to read her writing and follow her characters on their journey.
What a wonderful trip to Devon I took in the midst of a pandemic. Seriously, no one paints pictures with words better than Ms. O’Neal, so I literally feel as if I just spent several weeks in the gorgeous (fictional) town of Axetowe, walking the moors and visiting Poppy in The Kitchen Witch. It’s a tough book to talk about without giving away spoilers, so all I can say is that I felt the pain, love, and anxiety of all four women in this story–even the ones I wanted to strangle for most of it (looking at you, Poppy). Ms. O’Neal takes her time with each one as they slowly come to understand how their actions have impacted others, and how they need to learn to be vulnerable again. They mystery, while interesting, took a backseat to the development of the familial relationships (which I loved). I highly recommend this one, but keep a box of tissues handy.
I enjoyed many of the previous books from this author and was excited to get a chance to read her new book. It was as good or better than her previous books and she has now been added to my favorite authors’ list.
The Lost Girls of Devon is about 4 generations of women and the bitterness and pain between several of them. When Zoe was seven years old, her mother, Poppy, left her with her grandmother, Lillian, and never returned. When she grew up, Zoe escaped England and the memories of her mother and moved to Santa Fe. She lives there with her 15 year old daughter, Isabel. When Zoe finds out that her best friend, Diana, has disappeared from the village they grew up in, she and Isabel head home to see if they can help find her. When she arrives she isn’t happy to find out that her mother has also returned to the same village and Zoe refuses to see her or talk to her. She also finds out that Sage is living in the village. She has lots of growing up memories about the times that she spent with Diana and Sage. So here she is back in England with a mother she doesn’t want to speak to, a grandmother who is getting senile, a typical teenage daughter with lots of attitude, an old boyfriend (Sage) and a missing best friend. Not only are they all trying to find Diana, but they all have personal issues with each other that need to be solved.
The chapters alternate between the four women so we are able to find out what secrets they are hiding and how they feel about each other. The women are all well written and the story flows nicely as the secrets are revealed. Will they be able to improve their relationships with each other as they struggle to learn how to deal with the past?
This book has a little mystery, a little romance and lots of family dynamics between the four women. Along with that it has beautiful descriptions of the Devon coast line. I really enjoyed this one!
I fondly hope Barbara O’Neal keeps writing forever as each story is a jewel all its own. I was so thrilled to see my pre-order show up as a new release, but I almost didn’t want to start reading because eventually the story would end. Sigh. But between the covers is so much heart and her trademark gorgeous prose…I’ll read it again, I know without a doubt. Her stories are always keepers.
This was a well-written, heartwarming book. Four generations of women were each described so clearly, with their individual feelings, emotions, interests and struggles. There were vivid descriptions of scenery, relationships, food, and the passionate pull between a man and a woman. Like this author’s other stories, this book was a feast for all my senses and I didn’t want it to end. I recommend this book to others and look forward to reading other books by this author.
A compelling, heartfelt tale of four generations of women, seeking to find their path and heal their pain; some of which they caused each other.
Isabel is fifteen and has been traumatized by an experience with her High School friends that she isn’t willing to talk about – even with Zoe, the mother she is so close to. Meanwhile, Zoe’s friend in England has disappeared and so the two of them decide to cross the Atlantic to visit Zoe’s ailing but proud grandmother in the same town.
If you’re looking for escapism in these dark times, this book will sweep you away to Devon in the South of England, to a fishing village complete with quaint shops, white cliffs, fish and chips and an annual festival. As always, Barbara O’Neal paints with all the senses, not just the sights, but the smells, sensations, colors, and taste of being there in her story universe, nestled in a village by the sea.
With this novel she touches on a universal theme of forgiveness, and how the inability to forgive can prevent us from moving forward and being happy in the now. And asks the question of whether forgiveness can really be an option for Zoe, who has never moved on from her own mother abandoning her as a young child?
Lovers of intergenerational stories and those looking for an escape from today’s reality, where you can be immersed in a different place and the lives of others, will particularly appreciate this uplifting exploring the bonds between women.
Barbara O’Neal is one of my favorite authors and one I call a friend. Her books are simply wonderful. The Lost Girls of Devon is a story intertwining the lives of four generations of women coming to terms with the mistakes of their past. The dynamic between these mothers and daughters is wonderful to see and reminds you so much of your own family relationships.
Oh, and I have to mention Cooper here. If for nothing else, read this book to laugh and blush and sigh over the second chance romance between Zoe and Cooper.
In Barbara O’Neal’s latest, THE LOST GIRLS OF DEVON, focuses on four generations of women and their relationships to each other. When the mystery of her missing friend brings Zoe home to Devon with her daughter in tow. Being back is bittersweet, as her estranged Mother had moved back as well.
Told from the alternating viewpoints of each of the four women, the novel examines the family drama rife with anger, betrayal, regrets of choices made, and, most of all, love against the backdrop of the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the woman who has been a friend to three of the women.
The characters are true-to-life, written with depth and an understanding of complicated dynamics between mothers and daughters. The setting is beautifully described and the story flows together with a hint of magic to keep you engaged from beginning to end. I enjoyed the story and recommend it to anyone who appreciates a well-written novel with characters who are believable and relatable.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
#TheLostGirlsofDevon #BarbaraONeal #LakeUnionPublishing
The Lost Girls of Devon is one of those novels that grabs you at the beginning with its imagery and rich language and won’t let you go. Four generations of women deal with the pain and betrayal of the past, and Barbara O’Neal skillfully leads us to understand all of their deepest needs and fears. To read a Barbara O’Neal novel is to fall into a different world — a world of beauty and suspense, of tragedy and redemption. This one, like her others, is spellbinding.
In this intricately and beautifully woven tale of four generations, O’Neale unflinchingly explores the darker side of the love between mother and daughter in all of its complexities—including the covert resentment, jealousy, and frustration so often felt and so seldom talked about. Book Clubs will want to get their hands on this one for sure!
I must say I have always loved stories by this author and was sad to see this one end.
This is a story of four generations of women on the maternal side of the family, who come together after Zoe and her daughter Isabel, fly back to England after Zoe’s best friend from childhood Diana goes missing.
Zoe, divorced and Isabel going through some trauma of her own, decide this would be a good time to help search for her friend and to see her grandmother who raised her from age seven, when her mother Poppy, left to travel the world and find herself.
Now decades later, Zoe, her Mother Poppy and her grandmother Lillian, plus her daughter Isabel are all in the same town and years of resentment for her mother are once again coming to the surface for Zoe. Also an old flame of Zoe’s, Sage lives there.
Zoe is an artist, her daughter Isabel has gotten into photography Lillian the grandmother is a writer and Zoe’s Mother Poppy, is still a free spirit, who delves into spiritual practices.
This is a book with a mystery to it it, as they all delve into the disappearance of Diana, and another girl who was helping her in her business. It is also a book of healing for all of these characters, whatever their issues are from past and present.
I loved the story and the characters. I cannot wait for another of her books, I have read all of them except one, When we Believed in Mermaids, which I luckily have, to read soon.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book.
“Lost girls. I’d found them everywhere, all over the world, all longing for hope, for love, for an answer to their hungers in a world that did not honor them.”
When she was seven, Zoe’s mother Poppy dropped her off at her grandmother’s house and never came back. While they wrote letters and talked on the phone, it wasn’t enough for her, so when she was 12, she cut her mother out of her life forever. Now a mother to a teenage Isabel, Zoe must return home to her grandmother Lillian’s to find her missing best friend. Things get tense when these 4 generations get together. Add in Zoe’s first boyfriend, Sage, and her missing best friend Diana, you have a book filled with possibilities.
I related to one of these women at one time or another during my reading, though I especially related to both Zoe and Isabel, who struggled with PTSD. My heart hurt for Isabel and I could relate to her anxiety and panic. There was beauty in the way she walked herself through those episodes. I loved Poppy’s free spirit and enjoyed watching her grow as a character, a grandmother, and a mother. Through tragedy, they all brought something special to each other. All of them are talented artists in their chosen craft, and I adored that their art played such a big role in the book.
I first read O’Neal in December 2019, and I instantly fell in love. When I saw she had a new book coming out, I raced to request it from Lake Union Publishing because I knew I had to have it. I can’t recommend the book enough. The characters and the storyline are fantastic. Between the mystery of Diana’s disappearance, the blossoming love between Zoe and Sage, and the healing among the generations, it touches on so many emotions as you’re reading. A heartwarming and healing journey.
Solid Tale Of Intergenerational Drama. This is my third book from O’Neal, after 2018’s The Art of Inheriting Secrets and 2019’s When We Believed In Mermaids, and she continues to show her strength as a storyteller in continuing to spin new tales with new emphases on different things, all while being solidly centered on a woman’s (or a few womens’, in this case) perspective. Here we don’t see quite the wistful what-could-have-been of Secrets, nor do we get anywhere *near* the waterworks and trauma of Mermaids, but we do get a solid tale of four generations of women who have each had their own issues with the others of their line, and who each have to work to resolve those issues. It touches on so many different issues, some in the zeitgeist of the last few years, others more muted in discussions but felt internally nonetheless, and it does all of them a fair degree of justice in its explorations from several angles. For example, the third generation has decades of resentment for the second, after the second abandoned her to the first while she went off to a far away land. We get the tales of both the third and the second, but we also see perspectives from the first and fourth on how they see the drama between second and third having played out in both of their lives, and how it has impacted the lives of first and fourth themselves. And that is just one of the many issues we see, all of them featuring similar complexities in storytelling. The bit of action near the end does feel a bit out of place, but adds another less explored bit of zeitgeist commentary into the book even as it feels a touch tacked on. All in all, a truly solid effort and very much recommended.
A really good story about four generations of women.
It was an engrossing book and I enjoyed the story and characters. I will say that I had a hard time keeping everyone straight in the first couple chapters. I’ve read several of this author’s books and this one didn’t disappoint. Definitely recommend! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy
A wonderful story about mothers and daughters, grandmothers and granddaughters, old loves reconnecting, and bit of a mystery wall woven beautifully together. The setting was fabulous and came alive on the page, creating the perfect escape from today’s reality. Barbara O’Neal is quickly becoming a one-click author for me.
I haven’t read a book by this author that I did not love! Great read, little mystery and romance and beautiful background scenery…and a book that just makes you think. Could not put it down, like the others!
Great setting on the coast of England, strong, believable characters, and a good story.
I love anything by Barbara O’Neal, but this book is special. Is it the author’s ability to keep a character’s secret until just the right time? Or is it the ability to show a realistic path to forgiveness even in the face of unbearable pain? Either way, this story keeps you turning pages to find out more.
Loved this book